


At The Same Time in a Different Universe

by cami_soul



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Will get more smutty as it goes on, alternative universe, inspired by the movie Family Man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-17 21:48:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21916888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cami_soul/pseuds/cami_soul
Summary: What if…  What if in this universe Isak is a lonely and bitter man, who can’t come out to anyone - even himself? Will the magic of Christmas and a glimpse into another universe help him?
Relationships: Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In this universe, Isak met Even like in canon, but it diverged when Even said that things were moving too fast and backed away. In this universe, Isak never told Jonas or his friends about Even. He never told Eskild either, and ended up distancing himself from Eskild. He spent his second year at Nissen pining after Even from afar and hating himself. He ignored the rumors about being gay and aggressively dated several girls throughout high school. Isak went to university and became a medical researcher, but he works for a big corporation and is disillusioned about his work. 
> 
> Isak has internalized homophobia and he hasn’t come to terms with his own sexuality. He has a lot of negative self-talk that may be offensive. 
> 
> He is still friends with Eva and Jonas, but they have moved to Stavanger, so he only sees them once or twice a year. He’s very isolated. Estranged from his family, lost touch with Nissen friends, didn’t make any close friends in University. Closeted, has not admitted to anyone - even himself that he is interested in boys. He has had no other encounters with men, past his weekend of kissing and cuddling with Even. Has dated a few girls but backed away when they became serious. 
> 
> Warnings for internalized homophobia and negative self-talk.

The mouth of the bottle clinked loudly against the edge of his glass. Isak Valtersen looked around the sterile box that was his living room as he poured himself another whiskey. It was December 23rd and he was sitting alone in his boring and undecorated (what was the point since it’s just him) apartment. Everyone has been given the day off tomorrow, of course. Thinking about the lonely holiday ahead of him, Isak had been drinking steadily since he arrived home. He had bought a frozen Grandiosa pizza but had no motivation to cook it. Instead, he was sitting and drinking. 

It was all just shit - his life. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Instead of sitting by himself, he was supposed to be married to a nice girl and have a couple of kids. His job, as a medical researcher, wasn’t at all what he had pictured when he had been young and idealistic. Instead of finding break-thru cures for cancer, he was just one cog in a giant corporate machine. Once upon a time, he had thought he could make a difference. Now he knows that’s just bullshit. 

He usually does better at handling the loneliness of his life, but his earlier call with Jonas and Eva and their brood had only emphasized how alone he was. They had invited him to Stavanger for the holidays, but he knew he would just feel like the awkward bachelor uncle looking in on their family moments, and had declined their invitation. 

So now he celebrates the holiday the only way he knows how. As he drained his glass once more, Isak thought he heard a noise at his door and turned his head quickly toward the front hallway. Unfortunately, the abrupt turn emphasized just how drunk he was and the sudden dizziness caused him to lay back on the couch and close his eyes. 

He opened his eyes again, once the dizziness had passed and he wasn’t in danger of throwing up all over his couch. Only to shut them immediately, as he spied the bearded man dressed in a red coat and sitting in the chair across from him. 

Isak let a minute pass before cautiously reopening one eye. Nope, he was still hallucinating, so he promptly closed both eyes again, and covered his face with his hands. “Isak Vatersen, are you seriously going to pretend you don’t see me?” the man’s deep laugh filled the room as he chuckled over Isak’s plight. 

“You are a hallucination brought on by too much alcohol and too little food,” Isak declared to his hands. Isak had drunk a lot over recent years. In fact, he had gotten quite good at it, but he had never hallucinated Julenissen before. 

“Now, now, Isak! Don’t be like this,” His deep voice rang out loudly in the barren room. “No sense in hiding now that I’m here!” 

“What do you want?” Isak asked, still not dropping his hands and daring to look at this apparition. 

“Well now, the more salient question is - what do _you_ want?” the other man asked. 

Confused, exhausted and not just a small bit drunk, Isak dropped his hands and looked, really looked, at the man who had invaded his home. The other man had long white hair and a beard to match it, in fact, Isak wasn’t sure where the hair ended and the beard began. He was wearing a thick red woolen coat, black trousers, and black boots. He was smiling at Isak and his blue eyes seemed to twinkle. For a brief second Isak flashed on the memory of another pair of blue eyes that had twinkled in the past, but then it was gone again and Isak was left alone in the present. Alone except for this annoying hallucination, that is. 

“What do you want for Christmas, Isak?” Julenissen asked, dropping his smile to look earnestly into Isak’s eyes. 

Isak’s stomach twisted and his heart sped up. ‘What he wanted?’ That wasn’t something he ever allowed himself to think about. He would never get them, so what was the point? Love was fickle and fleeting. So it didn’t matter that he sometimes dreamed of a cozy house filled with kids and dogs and love. And if sometimes those dreams included a tall man with blond fluffy hair and a blinding smile, well - those dreams were buried the deepest of all. Dreams were pointless and if you dwelled on them too much, you would just be disappointed. 

“All right then!” Julenissen stood and clapped his hands together, “God Jul, Isak!” 

“What… I don’t…” confusion creased Isak’s forehead as he looked up at the big man towering over him. “I don’t understand.” Isak struggled to make sense of what was happening until he remembered that this hallucination was just a manifestation of his unconscious, and decided to go with the flow. “God Jul, Julenissen,” he said eventually. 

The other man waved and headed for the front hall. Moments later, Isak heard his front door open and close. Deciding it was definitely time for bed when you began to have imaginary conversations with Christmas Elves, Isak stumbled his way to his bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers and fell into bed, pulling his duvet over him and quickly falling asleep. 

****

Warmth and pressure were the first things Isak registered as he woke up. His duvet, which was kind of a crappy one really, was suddenly keeping him toasty warm. Without yet opening his eyes, Isak tried to burrow more deeply into the bedding. But a weight around his waist prevented this. Had he wrapped himself up in the duvet again? Still not wanting to wake fully, it was Christmas Eve and he had nothing to do all day - after all, he moved his hands down towards his waist to try and untangle the bedding. 

Isak stilled, in the famous fight or flight move called freeze like a scared rabbit, when his hands encountered not a duvet - but an arm wrapped around his waist. He knew he had been drunk last night, but he had thought for sure that he hadn’t gone to bed with anyone! He moved again trying to see if he could slip out of the arm’s grasp but instead, it tightened even more around him and dragged him back against another body! 

His eyes flew open in panic when he realized that the body pressed up behind him was male. Very male! And very aroused, if the firm pressure against the curve of his ass was anything to go by. What the hell he was doing in bed with another man, Isak had no idea. He took some small comfort in the fact that he still had his boxers on. 

Looking around the room, Isak had a second shock. This was not his room! The duvet was deep blue, there were large colorful paintings on the walls and bright yellow curtains at the windows. Windows that were still currently dark with only the faintest glow from the streetlight shining through. Isak had no idea what time it was since darkness meant almost nothing in mid-December. He moved again to try and get out of the bed of this stranger, a man no less, that he had apparently slept with. 

“Baby…” a deep voice rumbled and hot breath skated across Isak’s neck. “You know what it does to me when you wriggle around like that. We need to sleep while we can unless you are planning on making it worth my while,” he murmured pressing kisses to Isak’s neck in between words. Then the other man thrust his hips, rubbing his hardness across Isak’s ass to emphasis his point. 

Obviously, this couldn’t be happening. There was no way he would be in bed with a man. His traitorous brain tried to helpfully remind him that ‘there was that one time’, but he quickly shut that down. This had to be a dream, just like that stupid Julenissen last night. He must have been drunker than he thought he was. 

Isak was startled out of his thoughts when the mouth at his neck started sucking and a bolt of pleasure shot straight to his dick. ‘What the hell?!’ At the same time, the hand that had been around his waist started slowly slipping down his stomach. The tips of the fingers had just crept under the waistband of his boxers when Isak realized, dream or no dream he better stop this soon or he was going to be in trouble. “I don’t… I can’t…” Isak spoke roughly, jerking himself away from that seeking hand and twisting around to face the other man. 

Mouth open and gaping like a fish out of water, all Isak could do was stare at the man in bed next to him. It was Even. Even Bech Næshiem, the one aberration of his past. The only boy he had ever kissed. He’d had one weekend, one perfect weekend, with this boy and then he had broken up with Isak - and Isak had crawled back into his shell not willing to make that mistake again. Isak had never expected to see Even again, had no idea if he was even still living in Oslo. He had no idea why his brain had decided to insert Even into his drunken dream.

“Isak?” Even’s voice was sleep roughened and even deeper than Isak remembered. Even looked beautiful laying there looking up at Isak in confusion. His golden hair was a bit longer, spread out on the pillow around him, and his face had a few more creases than Isak remembered. His blue eyes were wide and asking questions. Even had just opened his mouth to speak again when the piercing cry of a baby rang out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for internalized homophobia and negative self-talk of Isak's.

December 24

The crying filled the room from somewhere nearby, confusing Isak even more as he tried to make his brain work and wake up from what was quickly becoming a nightmare. Even pulled the duvet up over his head but Isak could hear his muffled voice, “It’s your turn, Babe. I got him last night.” 

Trying to process what was happening, while the ever louder crying continued, was almost impossible. “What… what’s going on?” he half-shouted. 

“Okay, fine,” Even huffed as he threw off the duvet and got out of the bed. “I’ll go get the bottle, but you need to do the diaper.” And then before Isak could respond, Even left the bedroom. 

Isak gave serious consideration into pulling the covers over his own head and hiding, but he had the feeling that Even would just seek him out. Until he woke from this dream, he was just going to have to try and navigate it. And right now that included trying to find a crying baby and get it to stop. Isak got out of bed wearing just his boxers but didn’t see any shirt lying around, to put on. Instead, he rubbed his hands on his arms as he moved into the chilly corridor. 

The crying was even louder out here and Isak easily tracked it to the open door to his right. Isak stepped into the room using the light from an owl-shaped night light to find his way to the crib. Laying in the crib was a baby, crying and waving their fists around in anger or distress, Isak couldn’t tell. He had held Jonas’ kids a few times when they were babies but other than that he didn’t have much experience. He knew there was something about supporting their heads. 

He bent over to try and pick up the baby. For some reason he didn’t want to think too hard about, he didn’t want Even to come in and see him just watching the baby cry. He slid one hand under the baby’s back and the other behind its head and carefully lifted it against his chest. The baby quieted when it came in contact with his bare chest and kind of snuffled its head around a bit. It was heavier than he thought it would be and he shifted his hold to get a better grip. 

The baby resumed its crying, so Isak started to bounce on his feet like he had seen parents do at the market. This calmed the baby enough so Isak could start to look around the room for diapers. He saw a stack of them near a padded raised up table and figured this was for changing the baby. And as much as Isak loved Jonas and Ava, and their kids - he had never ever changed a baby’s diaper. ‘It can’t be that hard,” he thought to himself. Millions of people do it and many of them must be bigger idiots than he was. 

Isak moved over and laid the baby down on the padded surface, and immediately it started screaming again. He snatched the baby back up again and quickly and resumed bouncing. “Shhhhh, shhhh,” he whispered next to its head. How was he supposed to change a baby who cried every time he put it down?

“Babe,” Even gently scolded as he walked into the room. “Snuggling Mattie is not going to get his diaper changed.” 

“He cried when I tried to put him down,” Isak tried to defend himself. He looked over at Even, and then his eyes skated away quickly. Even’s blond hair was fluffy and sticking up in every direction. He was shirtless as well, with sleep pants that were hanging very low on his hip bones. Altogether, it was much too distracting and Isak needed to focus right now. 

Even walked behind him and wrapped his long arms around them both, bare chest pressing to Isak’s back. Isak barely heard his next words, “Oh, sweetheart, what are you two going to do when you are taking your turn with parental leave?” Even chuckled and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “you need to toughen up a bit, you big softie. Here, I’ll trade you.” Even slid around to the front, expertly scooped the baby from Isak’s arms and handed him the baby bottle. 

Isak watched carefully as Even unsnapped the bottom of the baby’s pajamas and freed his tiny little legs, in case he had to do this himself. Even removed the wet diaper, spread some cream out of a tube on the baby’s bottom, and then put on a dry diaper. The baby didn’t seem too happy about this, his little arms and legs were waving and he was letting out an ear-splitting screech, but Even didn’t seem bothered. He kept up a steady stream of baby talk and kissy faces until the boy was once again dressed. 

Then he handed the baby back to Isak, “Here you go, Papa. You can feed him now.” Even then left the room, leaving Isak alone.

Since he had a crying baby in one arm and a bottle of formula in the other, Isak did the only logical thing and put the two together. His first few attempts were unsuccessful. Apparently, he used the wrong angle because the baby spit the nipple right out. But then he got it right and all of a sudden the crying stopped and some intense slurping sounds started. 

He very carefully edged his way over to the rocking chair that sat in the corner. Once he was sitting, he could rest the arm holding the baby. It was weird, he had thought the baby might close his eyes, but instead, he was looking straight up at Isak while he drank. “Hi,” he whispered, “I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing here. If you are a dream, you are sure a cute one.” He had big brown eyes and some wisps of brown hair on his head. He was the picture of a happy, healthy baby with plump cheeks and chubby arms and legs. 

The baby finally let the nipple pop out of his mouth but kept staring solemnly up at Isak. “Are you all done?” Isak found himself asking even though he knew well and good that he wouldn’t get an answer back. Isak has no clue what to do now. This seemed like the longest dream ever, and even knowing it was a dream he didn’t want to do anything that would hurt either Even or this little boy in his arms. He guessed he would just try to play at “papa” for as long as the dream lasted and hope he didn’t mess up too badly. 

He considered revising that plan when he stood up and shifted the baby around and then promptly felt warm curdled formula splashing all over his bare chest! “Argh!” He futility tried to move the baby away from him but they were both covered in spit-up. “Even!” He shouted. 

Even rushed in and took one look at them and shook his head while laughing. “Family shower time,” he declared as he hustled Isak out of the bedroom, out into the hall, and then into the bathroom. Even turned on the shower and then tested the temperature. “Okay, in you go,” he scooped up the baby and then pushed Isak towards the large walk-in shower. Isak started walking mindlessly forward until Even called out, “Not with your boxers on!” and hooked a finger in the waistband of Isak’s boxer shorts and tugged. 

‘Oh shit!’ Isak thought. I have to get naked to shower. Naked. In front of Even. The smelly mess on his chest spurred him on, so he quickly pushed down his shorts and stepped into the shower. He was busy soaping up his chest and getting rid of the spit-up when he realized that Even had joined him in the shower and that he also had the baby in his arms. His gaze dropped briefly to verify that yes Even was also naked and was as well endowed as he remembered, before it skittered away in panic. 

Even nudged him out of the stream of water, before asking, “Can you soap us up?” Isak froze at the thought of his hands slicking soap all over Even’s skin. He reached for the bar of soap he had used when Even’s voice interrupted him, “not that, use the baby wash.” He pointed to a light blue tube. 

‘Oh yeah,’ Isak remembered, there was a baby with them in this shower. Isak reached for the baby wash and squeezed some in his hands. He carefully started soaping up the baby held in Even’s arms. Even smiled at him and the baby seemed pretty pleased too, as it gurgled and waved his small arms. When Isak was done, Even moved over so the baby was under the shower spray and was rinsed off. 

“Can you dry off, Baby? Then you can take Mattie while I rinse off,” Even suggested. 

“Uh, sure,” Isak said, starting to feel awkward again about being totally naked in front of Even. He stepped out of the shower, angling away from Even’s gaze, and reaching for a towel from the nearby rack. He wrapped the towel around his waist and then handed a second towel to Even. He watched in fascination as Even expertly bundled the baby up snuggly in the towel. 

“Here’s Papa, Mattie,” Even held the baby out towards Isak. As Isak reached for the wrapped baby, the towel around his waist loosened and because his hands were busy holding the baby boy - it fell to the bathroom floor. Even grinned and winked as he looked down Isak’s body. “Oh, Babe! The things I would do to you if you weren’t holding our infant son. The cutest cockblock ever,” he chuckled. 

Isak’s eyes widened and he held the baby close to his body. His heart rate sped up and his breathing quickened as he stood bare in front of Even’s gaze. Something curled in his stomach as the smile slowly faded from Even’s face only to be replaced with a look of hunger. When Even finally turned back into the shower and started soaping up, Isak was confused by the disappointment that filled him. He shouldn’t want any man to look at him when he was naked, much less a man who had tried to confuse him when he was a teenager. 

Of course, it was fine if someone was gay, he had friends (well he used to anyway) who were gay. He just knew he wasn’t gay. He had absolutely no wish to wear tights and mascara and go marching in a Gay Pride parade. This didn’t explain why he was having an extended dream about a gay couple (a married gay couple, if the rings he had noticed on their right hands was anything to go by). 

Isak was shaken from these ruminations when Even stepped out of the shower, his miles of naked skin all pink and wet. This time it was Isak’s turn to gawk as he watched Even run the towel across his skin. A smile so large his eyes almost disappeared, spread over Even’s face as he turned and caught Isak gawking. “Aw, you didn’t have to wait for me, Baby.” The baby started cooing and babbling as a smiling Even came closer. “Let’s get dressed first, then we can take care of Mattias,” he suggested. He hung his towel up and strode out of the bathroom entirely naked. 

Isak hurried to follow him down the hall. Isak tried not to stare at his perfect ass, as he followed him. But asses didn’t have genders, and it would be hard to look away from an ass as perfectly formed as this no matter who it was attached to - Isak rationalized. 

When he reached the bedroom, he saw that Even had opened up half of a large wardrobe and was pulling out clean clothes. “What should I do with him?” he asked Even about the baby he was holding. 

“Put him in the middle of the bed, he will be safe there,” Even answered.

Isak laid him carefully in the middle of the large bed, and the baby seemed happy enough, waving his hands in the air and babbling. Keeping himself mostly turned away from Even, Isak thought quickly and called out, “Can you grab some clothes for me too?” 

“Sure,” Even said with his head still in the wardrobe, “We can change into nice clothes before we head over to my parents. We still have gifts to wrap, and I need to make the red cabbage to bring. Did you remember to pick up the Juløl for my dad?” Even turned around and tossed some clothes on the bed and then looked up expectantly. 

Isak’s head was spinning. Parents? Gifts? Juløl? He had no idea about any of this. This seemed like a very detailed dream. He had no idea what the correct answers were. “Uh…” he scrambled for something plausible - he had nothing, “I can’t remember.” 

“Okay, I’ll check the pantry. Can you dress Mattias after you get dressed?” Even was dressing as he talked, covering his long lean body with layer after layer. Once dressed he came up behind Isak and slid his arms around him, and wrapped them around his middle. Even’s clothes brushing against his skin made him hyper-aware of his nakedness, and Even’s voice whispering in his ear sent shivers down his spine. “You are still so fucking hot, Isak! Hopefully, tonight I will get a chance to show you how much,” Even punctuated his sentence with kisses that trailed down Isak’s neck. 

Then he left the room and Isak was left standing in the bedroom, a bewildered mess. “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” he said to the baby on the bed. “What am I supposed to do?” Unsurprisingly, the baby didn’t answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the research I’ve done, I’ve found that it can be very difficult to adopt a baby in Norway. For the purposes of my story, I am asking you to suspend disbelief, and think that maybe Isak’s job as a pediatrician helped the adoption authority rank them highly.


End file.
